January 2006

Welcome to the January issue of the National Civic League's e-mail newsletter. This bi-monthly communication provides information on the activities and accomplishments of NCL and links to information on a variety of topics.

2006 All-America City Award

Applications Due by March 9th

Communities across the U.S. are facing incredible challenges, including homeland security, disaster response, public education, rising energy costs, declining tax bases, and many others. As it has since 1949, the 2006 All-America City Award will recognize communities that are overcoming their challenges through innovative leadership and collaborative problem solving.

The All-America-City Award, a program of the National Civic League, is the oldest and most prestigious community recognition program in the country. The Award recognizes exceptional community problem-solving and is earned by communities that work cooperatively to address and overcome challenges.

“I am so pleased and honored that the Canoga Park Community received the All-America City Award for the transformation that has taken place in the neighborhood,” said Councilman Dennis P. Zine, Los Angeles District three. “The award clearly demonstrates that when a diverse community unites and works together, anything is possible—even a National Award for an aging community with hard working people.”

For the past 56 years, the All-America City Award has encouraged, and recognized, civic excellence. It honors communities of all sizes – cities, towns, counties, neighborhoods and regions – in which citizens, government, businesses and volunteer organizations work together to address critical local issues. Communities that address their challenges in innovative and collaborative ways can become an All-America City.

“The All-America City Award has been described as a Nobel prize for constructive citizenship,” said Christopher T. Gates, President of the National Civic League.

“That’s how George H. Gallup, the famous pollster and one of the Award’s founders, described the program more than 50 years ago. That description holds true today.”

The benefits realized by All-America City Award winners and finalists include heightened national attention, civic pride, and a proven economic impact. The rigorous application process itself serves as a valuable civic self-assessment and can make communities stronger, Gates said.

“I am very proud that the Pompano Beach community earned the All-America City designation in 2005,” said Mayor John C. Rayson. “This is a community that takes its challenges seriously. We came together to create viable solutions making Pompano Beach one of the best cities in the United States. We’re proud to serve as a role model to help other cites meet their challenges.”

Since 1949, more than 500 communities have earned this prestigious award. The National Civic League is now accepting applications for the 2006 Award. Cities, towns, neighborhoods, counties, and regions can apply. Applications are due March 9, 2006. The National Civic League will announce the 30 finalists on April 14, 2006. All finalists advance to the 57th annual All-America City Awards competition in Anaheim, June 9-12. A national panel of judges from all sectors of society will score all 30 presentations and select 10 winners based on the quality of the collaborative projects each community presents.

For more information, or to receive an application for the 2006 All-America City Award, contact Gary Chandler at the National Civic League. Call 303-571-4343, or write to aleksh@ncl.org.

Applications and information are available at www.ncl.org/aac. The 2006 All-America City Award program is sponsored in part by Marriott International and the Marriott Anaheim.

The National Civic League (NCL) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to building community and promoting democracy at the local level. NCL facilitates community processes and conducts and publishes research on political reform and community building.

NCL Program Will Recognize
Outstanding Principals With $5,000 Grants

Nominations Due By March 15th

Do you know a school principal who is an outstanding citizen in your community? If so, nominate that person for the MetLife Foundation Ambassadors in Education Award and help his or her school earn $5,000.

The award recognizes middle school and high school principals in 25 public school districts across the United States who are working to strengthen their schools and their surrounding communities. Students, parents, educators and community members are encouraged to nominate a principal who is making an impact beyond his or her school for the betterment of the entire community.

“Principals are key to establishing a culture of caring and community involvement in their schools,” said Sibyl Jacobson, MetLife Foundation president and CEO. “Their leadership in reaching out to their students’ neighborhoods sets an important example for all citizens, including students, parents, and school staff.”

MetLife Foundation’s goal is to provide positive recognition to school principals to encourage these educators to continue their efforts while inspiring others to follow their examples. The MetLife Foundation Ambassadors in Education program is now accepting nominations for outstanding principals in the following cities:

The deadline for submitting nominations is March 15th. A national selection committee will review the nominations and select the winning principals. MetLife Foundation and the National Civic League will announce the winners by April 1st and will present the awards at local ceremonies shortly thereafter.

The award is sponsored by MetLife Foundation, which was founded in 1976. The Foundation supports programs that increase opportunities for young people to succeed, give students and teachers a voice in improving education, develop partnerships between schools and communities and strengthen relationships among parents, teachers and students. The National Civic League, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization devoted to community building and citizen democracy, conducts the award program.

In 2002, the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher revealed a disconnect between many educators and the communities they serve – especially those practicing in inner city schools. For example, only nine percent of students believe their teachers know enough about the communities where they teach, and about 55 percent of the teachers in communities of color admit they don’t know much about the communities in which their schools are located.

MetLife Foundation and the National Civic League started the Ambassadors in Education Award program in 2003 to help reverse these alarming trends within our educational systems. For more information about the Ambassadors in Education Award, visit www.ncl.org/metlife.

Civic Indicator Handbook is now available!

Since the 1980s, the National Civic League has assisted communities in assessing civic health. The Civic Index provided communities with a tool to conduct a self-evaluation of the capacities and competencies that strengthen civic infrastructure. Many communities have used this tool to create a snapshot of current community strengths and to identify areas to further develop.

In 2000, NCL began to look at how a community could quantifiably track and measure progress in civic capacity building. Recognizing that civic health is much more complex than the standard measures applied such as voter registration and voter turnout, NCL began a project to identify and test a variety of civic indicators.

With the assistance of a National Advisory Council and four community level organizations, several ideas were tested and a number of lessons were learned. The result is detailed in the recently published Civic Indicators Handbook. This handbook provides a community with information, insight and a multitude of sample civic indicators to draw upon.

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Book Review of: Hope Unraveled: The People's Retreat and Our Way Back

Do you feel like today's politics and public life have left you out? Do you get frustrated when time and again, your efforts to improve your community fail to gain traction? Does the constant pressure from funders, political leaders, the news media, and even fellow citizens to get "instant results," often leave you wondering if they even understand the challenges you face?

If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, then you should order a copy of Hope Unraveled: The People's Retreat and Our Way Back . Written by Richard C. Harwood, founder and president of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, this book chronicles 15 years of conversations he has had with ordinary Americans as part of major research initiatives funded by some of the largest foundations in the country. What Rich has found is that, because political leaders and the news media (at the national and local levels) fail to reflect the reality of our daily lives in their words and deeds - and often distort those realities for short-term gain - people have felt no choice but to retreat from politics and public life, into their close-knit circles of family and friends. They abhor and deeply lament this retreat but are lost about what to do about it.

This retreat runs counter to the purported "red state, blue state" division that drives today's political conversations. What Rich has found is that we are more alike than we are different and that many of the strategies our leaders are pursuing to mend this false division are actually driving us further and further into retreat. Despite a seemingly overwhelming problem, there is a way to reverse this retreat and forge an alternate path for politics and public life, but it will require all of us to step forward and act in a different way.

Order your copy today from Amazon.com by clicking here, and download a copy of The Harwood Institute's discussion guide to use with friends, co-workers, and members of your community to begin to better understand where we are today in our public life and politics, and what we need to do to create the kind of communities and nation we all seek. Hope Unraveled is published by Kettering Foundation Press; all proceeds from the sale of this book go directly to the Kettering Foundation. For more information about the Harwood Institute, visit www.theharwoodinstitute.org

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TO ORDER YOUR COPY CALL 303-571-4343, or order online.

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The National Civic League (NCL), founded in 1894, is America's original advocate for community democracy. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization dedicated to strengthening citizen democracy by transforming democratic institutions. NCL fosters innovative community building and political reform, assists local governments, and recognizes collaborative community achievement. NCL accomplishes its mission through technical assistance, training, publishing, research, and the All-America City Award, America's original and most prestigious community recognition program.

National Headquarters
National Civic League / 1445 Market St. / Suite 300 / Denver, CO 80202
303-571-4343 (phone) / 303-571-4404 (fax)
ncl@ncl.org

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